Mourn The Loss
by Lemon Wine
Summary: AU ONESHOT: ::Dear Ren, So far none of your friends have died, what could go wrong?:: How ironic. The day this letter arrives is the day it all goes wrong. R&R :songfic:


_There isn't much I haven't shared  
With you along the road  
And through it all there'd always be  
Tomorrow's episode_

"Tao Ren! We have a letter for you…" The voice was soft and sad as a short man walked up from his seat near a bed to grab the flimsy paper that we supposedly his. Opening it up, he began to read:

_**Ren,**_

_**My god… It's been so long! **_

_**I received a letter from Pilika informing me that she finally found where Horohoro's base was located and that he mentioned you were there too when he replied to a letter she had sent …(I had told her that if she got any word about you, to tell me) So now I'm writing to see if you are okay. But that was weeks ago, so I hope you hadn't moved yet again... But I want to know if you are okay… **_

Fidgeting as he read over the letter sent to him by his sister, Tao Ren glanced sharply around the large tent that had been deemed the hospital of his war base… There had been a surprise attack, and it did not go to well for the Japanese forces. He was one of the luckier ones, with only some minor burns across his chest…

_**And the others how are they? Tell me about what Horo did, because Pilika mentioned that he was talking about some sort of 'crazy mission' and that he seemed kind of nervous…**_

_Suddenly that isn't true  
There's another avenue  
Beckoning, the great divide  
Ask no questions, take no side_

Ren groaned, clutching his head in his hands as he glanced over at the still figure lying in the bed across from him, the only signs of life being the slow, weak rising and falling of the persons' chest… A heavy blanket had been pulled up over the body until it reached the neck, allowing only a glimpse of the pale, sleeping face and striking blue hair… Usui Horokeu was in critical condition, with a shot directly below the heart and numerous stab wounds in his gut… Deemed in a coma, the doctors did not think he would live.

_**And what about Yoh? Anna won't admit it, but when I visited her a month or so ago, she was nervous and you could tell…Always cleaning (she never used to, you know that)… Manta had called that day to say that all of you guys were alive and doing well, he works in an office in the war zone filing things, because he's too small to actually fight… **_

The purple haired boy stared at the letter with what appeared to be a gaze of remorse… Yesterday he had been informed that Manta was dead. Shot in the head in friendly fire… It was a harsh blow to all the friends, but Yoh the most, who was now sitting at Horo's bedside silently. The Asakura was nursing a gunshot wound to the shoulder and a cut along the side of his face…

_**And what about the idiot Ryu? He is probably too worried about his hair to go into the field right? But, all the same, it'd be a pity if anything happened to you guys… You're so lucky compared some of the other stories I've heard**…_

_Who's to say who's right or wrong  
Whose course is braver run  
Will ever be, ask one_

Ren stared sadly out the window to where graves were now being dug up… Thirty-three bodies lay, wrapped in body-bags. That had been more then half the bases population, being that there were only fifty-five soldiers located there to begin with… Of the all the corpses being buried, the largest one belonged to the man who had saved Ren's life… Ryu. The man had taken a shot that had been meant to kill the Tao, who was at the time trying to drag Horo's unconscious body away from the battle… Pierced through the back and directly through the heart, the large man had died instantly.

_**So far, none of your friends have died, and it's already been a year, right? I know I shouldn't care, considering how much you hate the guy, but how is Hao doing as well? Pilika told me that Horo mentioned him being promoted to the sector commander…It must be kind of tough with him in charge, huh?**_

Golden eyes trailed over to where the Yoh sat, head bowed as he glanced over Horo's body… Hao had been killed in the fight as well. He and Yoh had been the ones' who had supposedly 'saved them all'… The two Asakura's had fought so fiercely that even in death, Hao had been promoted two ranks and Yoh had been ordered to replace his brothers' position as the commander. The youngest of the twins had promptly refused and returned to watching over the dieing Ainu with Ren. Although he did not seem like it, Yoh was crying, and tears slid slowly down his cheeks. For both Hao and Horo.

_**Chocolove recently contacted me in the hopes that you had not joined with the Japanese to fight and returned to China to come back and live with us. He had refused to join the Americans when they decided to wage war against Japan, and he seemed hopeful that you had not gone to war as well… I felt bad telling him to you had gone, but he just said that he hoped you were all okay and that he was glad he did not have to fight you guys…**_

_  
What is done has been done for the best  
Though the mist in my eyes might suggest  
Just a little confusion about what I'll lose  
But if I started over I know I would choose_

Ren smiled slightly at the mention of his old teammate, it was good thing that he was not out there on the field either, or one day they might have to fight…But the small grin quickly faded to be replaced with an urgent frown when he heard Yoh's make a choking sound. Glancing at the brunette, he realized his body was shaking with sobs.

_**Well, you are probably bored with my ramblings so I'll just let you know that everything in China is going fine and I hope you come home soon.**_

_**Respectfully,**_

_**Tao Jun**_

"What? Yoh, what's w-wrong?"

That was all he spluttered out before he noticed one thing:

Horo wasn't moving. Horo wasn't breathing. Horo wasn't alive.

_The same joy the same sadness each step of the way  
That fought me and tought me that friends never say  
Never say goodbye_

---Owari---

((I know, it was a bit 'what-the-hell-was-that?' kinda fic but it just suddenly came into my mind when I was writing the next chapter to 'Everybody Loves Horo'… Poor Horo and Hao… and Manta and Ryu

It was alternate Universe; none of them were shamans or anything, just a bunch of friends… In a war…

Ne who, the song was 'Friends Never say goodbye' by: Elton John!

P-L-E-A-S-E review

flames are accepted, constructive critism is appreciated and reviews are loved!))


End file.
